THE All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (AICCWW), the women's sub-committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on August 26, welcomed the release of the Hema Committee report and the assurances given by the LDF government of Kerala to implement many of its recommendations to improve the working conditions, particularly for women, in the Kerala film industry.

The AICCWW congratulates the survivor actress who bravely came forward to fight, and the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which has played a stellar role in highlighting the shocking discrimination and sexual harassment faced by women working in the Kerala film industry.

The committee made commendable efforts to prepare a comprehensive report, recording depositions from more than 50 men and women, including senior actors as well as junior artists and technicians. The committee faced several challenges in completing the report, as the victims were greatly concerned about breaches of their confidentiality. As a result, it took two years to prepare the report. Its release was further delayed by privacy-related issues and interventions by statutory bodies and the judiciary.

Apart from shocking revelations of demands for sexual favors, intimidating and predatory sexual advances, and attacks that women at all levels in the film industry face at the very start of their careers, the committee pointed to rampant gender discrimination in remuneration, technical opportunities, lack of basic on-site facilities such as toilets and changing rooms, the absence of grievance redressal mechanisms, illegal age limits on work participation, and a lack of contracts and regulation of working conditions.

The committee highlighted the existence of a ghastly, reactionary, near-feudal power structure tightly controlled by a few men within the industry, leading to an illegal and unauthorised “ban” on those who dare to raise their voices against the injustices they face. It recommended drafting a specific law to regulate the industry, setting up a tribunal and a special welfare fund, ensuring written contracts, equal remuneration, and gender balance in decision-making bodies. In a wider context, it called for a comprehensive film workers’ policy, support for women-produced cinema, and gender justice in cinema content.

In a welcome move, the LDF government decided to call a conclave and invite women from across the industry, along with various stakeholders, to discuss comprehensive suggestions to address all forms of discrimination and chart a way forward. We also welcome the LDF government’s decision to set up an investigation team within the police to look into various cases, including POCSO cases that have emerged following the publication of the report, and to support the survivors. It would be appropriate to set up a fast-track court to deal with these cases and to instill confidence in the victims who are still silent.

Sexual exploitation of women, discrimination, and unfair practices exist not only in Kerala but are reportedly widespread in film production centres across the country. We may recall that many actresses in Bollywood have previously revealed the sexual assaults they faced under the guise of the ‘casting couch.’ In the Telugu film industry, a film artist stripped herself and protested in Hyderabad against this harassment. We demand that the concerned state governments take immediate action on these complaints and frame holistic policies to address these issues.

We stand in solidarity with women in cinema and support their struggles to dismantle patriarchal power structures, build gender-just workplaces with fair labour practices, and end the culture of silence in the face of fear and oppression.